This invention relates to a novel and useful pure protein which is extracted from the human brain and has growth inhibitory action, to a method of prophylaxis and therapy of Artzheimer disease using the protein, and to a novel and useful gene (whole length cDNA) coding for the above protein.
Amidst the society where many people are growing older, senile dementia is attracting attention, and many efforts have been done for prophylaxis and therapy thereof. Particularly, the senile dementia called Alzheimer disease occurs in the early old stage (ages of 50 to 60), and investigation of its cause and establishment of the therapeutical method thereof have been hastened.
According to the knowledges obtained to date, Alzheimer disease is an neurodegenerative disease having such pathological characteristics as senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, etc. and a clinical characteristic of progressive dementia, and it may be considered that acceleration of metabolism and abnormal regeneration of neurons participate in that disease.
However, in the prior art, no effective prophylaxis method or therapeutical method of Alzheimer disease has been found and its established has been desired.